Telegram has released nine new features for group chats.The popular instant messaging app announced these new features in a blog post. To begin with, admins can now post stories on behalf of their groups and also save Stories to profile pages where other users can access them later.
To post a story for your group, tap on the Story icon (+) on the group"s profile or select the group in the "Post Story As" section of the story editor. If a group member replies to a story, it will be sent to that group for others to continue the conversation.
Groups on Telegram can now gain levels after getting boosts from premium users (or giveaways) to unlock extra perks. Speaking of which, a group needs to achieve Level 1 to be able to post one story per day in the app.
For the unversed, users who buy a Telegram Premium subscription get four boosts they can give to any group or channel. Users also get three boosts each time they gift Premium to someone else.
As part of the latest feature drop, users who have boosted a group on Telegram will have a special Booster Badge on their messages. The badge will evolve with every boost sent and admins can give them special privileges like ignoring Slow Mode or other restrictions.
Telegram has introduced various customization options for boosted groups. They can change the color and logo of their profile cover, set an emoji status, and choose a wallpaper that will be visible to all who open the group.
Thousands of emoji created by Telegram artists are available in the app, which groups can choose as their emoji status. Groups that reach higher boost levels can choose a premium emoji pack that all members can use, even if they don"t have a premium subscription. For the voice and video messages sent in a group, boosted groups get access to unlimited voice-to-text transcription.
All of these features are now available to use and can be unlocked by getting boosts from group members. Telegram said it wanted to announce five more features "but the App Store Gods were not in our favor." These features will be available in the March update.